Proverbs 24
One day a wise king went for a walk, and he saw a field covered with thorns and nettles, instead of with good grain and vines. The king said,
“I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of undetanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.” Prov. 24:30, 3130I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. (Proverbs 24:30‑31).
If we saw such a field, we might think the owner was away or ill, but the king knew it belonged to a slothful man, one who was careless, and did not like to do his work; he had not pulled out the weeds when small, and soon they covered over, or choked out, his grain and vines; when stones had fallen out of his wall, he had not replaced them, so the wall was broken down; animals could come in and spoil his grain and vines. The man and his family would have little or no food from that field and vineyard.
Perhaps, at first, the man thought the weeds in his field did not matter; some weeds have pretty leaves and some even have a stunted flower; but at last they develop hard, sharp thorns and stickers which are very troublesome, and we would not like to walk in such a field.
The wise king thought about that field, and of why it was so spoiled; he said,
The king knew that while the man who owned the field had each day been sleeping a little longer and keeping his hands folded, or idle, a little more, the thorn and thistles had steadily been growing and crowding out the good plants. The man would at last be in poverty, as a traveler at last comes to the end of his journey; and the man would be in as helpless as if overpowered by an armed man.
We, too, may learn a lesson from that wasted field: to be prompt in our work, instead of idle and careless. Then them is another lesson for us: our lives are like a field; we have God’s Words to be as food for our souls. If day after day we are little careless, and neglect to read or of God’s Word; and let careless ways come in our lives, perhaps say cross words; or read untrue stories, or form other had habits, little by little our lives will be filled by the careless ways, they will be the “thorns and thistles” to crowd out good things. We will be very poor in the Words of God, and have none for those whom we could help. The Lord looks at our lives, as the king looked at the field, and we will he ashamed if we are “slothful” of His Word, and of what is for Him.
ML 03/23/1941